Absence Makes the Heart Grow Weary
by theravenclawquill
Summary: We know what Bridget did during her fourth summer: travel to Turkey and undergo a sizzling fling with her teacher. But what did Eric do that summer?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Characters/settings belong to Ann Brashares. Except for Lexy. (:

(A/N): So I pretty much wrote this fic for fun – right after I finished 'Bend it Like Bridget'. This is basically a short fic about Eric's fourth summer, while Bridget is in Turkey with Peter. It's not going to be as long as BILB; it's just a small 3-parter or so. I hope you enjoy anyway! (:

---

Eric Richman walked slowly to his cabin, up to his chin in emotion. He was back. The thought wouldn't register completely in his brain. Not in a million years did he ever imagine that he would willingly come back to Baja, to the very camp where saucy Bridget Vreeland had turned his world inside out three years ago.

The familiar signs and landmarks tormented him. Every time Eric turned his head, he found himself thinking, _There's the very bench she sat on during her first game. There's the field she ran laps on. And there's the beach…the beach where... oh God. _

He couldn't do this. He couldn't handle being back.

He didn't know whether to feel nostalgic or nauseous; if he should keep his eyes propped open lest he miss a single familiar rock or grain of sand or if he should walk by quickly, turning a blind eye to all the memories. As a result, Eric was a confused jumble of various emotions, all vying to be the one he actually felt. His head throbbed.

Finally, at long last, Eric reached his assigned cabin (thankfully, not the one where Bridget had fetched him three years back). He sighed deeply and pushed his way into the dusty two-bed room.

"Sup, man," came a deep, husky voice. Eric pushed his sunglasses onto his head and blinked the bright sunlight out of his pupils to clear his vision. To his surprise, he saw that there was another person in the cabin already. The roommate was a classic California guy; with the dirty blond hair, golden skin, and long board shorts. He had a sunglass tan around his eyes, which made him look like a panda. He finished unpacking his duffel bag and stood up to greet Eric.

"How's it going, man? I'm Andy Maxwell. From San Diego."

Eric shook Andy's rough hand, wondering if he was going to be called 'man' for the next three weeks. "Hi," he replied. "I'm Eric Richman. I'm from Maryland, but I go to Columbia."

"Columbia," Andy nodded, impressed. "Nice, man. So, you're like a New Yorker."

Eric smiled. "Yeah. Pretty much."

The two boys continued organizing their cramped room and getting acquainted with each other. And after discovering their schedules, pinned to a cork bulletin board, they found out that they would both be coaching teams along with their directing gig.

"I'm coaching with Erica Nguyen…from New Jersey," Andy said, taking down his packet and flipping through it. "What about you?"

Eric thumbed through his own packet and ran a finger down to his name. "Lexy St. Clair," he replied, skimming her bio. "From Los Angeles. Captain of her high school soccer team, CIF champions. Rookie of the Year freshman year and MVP three years running."

Andy whistled through his teeth. "Impressive stats, man. You're going to work hard."

Eric made a noise of absent-minded assent. He didn't bother telling Andy that he had a girl at home who could kick this Lexy St. Clair all across the soccer field. Eric smiled, thinking of Bridget.

---

Eric sat down at the wooden table, in front of the placard with his name printed on it. He glanced at his partner's card as well. Lexy St. Clair had yet to show up.

"All right, coaches!" boomed Rachel Wright, the main director, a tall woman whose blond ponytail constantly swung through the hole in her Yankees cap. She seemed to speak in exclamation points. "Please take this moment to bond with your co-coaches! You'll be working with them the entire summer! I'll give you fifteen minutes to talk, then we'll move on to the discussion of the game schedules and practices! Okay…go!"

The room steadily grew in volume as the coaches began to introduce themselves to each other. Eric felt slightly awkward without a partner. He decided to tie his shoes.

"Hi."

Eric looked up to see Lexy St. Clair slide into the seat next to him. Or, more appropriately, Eric saw her décolleté precede her into the seat next to him. He inspected the rest of her. His very tall, thin partner had amber eyes and long dark brown hair that ended beneath her shoulder blades. She was wearing a Liverpool soccer jersey and black mesh shorts with a rolled hem to reveal an endless expanse of leg. Lexy strongly reminded Eric of Alessandra Ambrosio. And he had seen more than his share of Alessandra in magazines over the past few lonely months without Bridget to come to recognize the model quite well.

"You're Eric Richman, right?" Lexy/Alessandra asked.

Eric couldn't seem to generate words in the presence of this attractive girl. Subconsciously, he knew he couldn't feel this way. He was a guy with a girlfriend, after all. A beautiful girlfriend. But was having a girlfriend really supposed to prevent a guy from being attracted to others? Eric wished that Bridget was sitting next to him that moment. Without her there, Eric felt powerless; like nothing could keep him in check.

"That's me," he finally spat out. "You must be Lexy St. Clair."

She smiled. "I can tell we're going to have lots of fun this summer."

Eric felt slightly sick to his stomach. "Yeah," he exhaled. "So…we're supposed to be introducing ourselves. Why don't you tell me about your family?"

She pursed her lips and thought hard. "My family? Um. Well, my mom is an aerobics teacher, and my dad is an engineer. They were really strict on me when I was growing up. I don't have any siblings, but I have a brown guinea pig named Owen."

"Owen…"

"After Michael Owen." She grinned. "Cutest player on Newcastle United."

Eric grinned back, in spite of himself. "Nice."

Lexy put her chin in her hands, and her hair draped over her shoulders. "What about you? What's your family like?"

He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. "Well…my dad is a pro-bono lawyer and my mom stays at home. She's an amazing cook. And…I have a Lab named Rusty."

"Mm." Lexy made a noise of assent. "Any girlfriends?" Her voice was innocent.

Eric swallowed, fully intending to talk a mile a minute about Bridget. Bridget, with her magical hair and infectious smile. He could talk about her soccer accomplishments. Or her amazing spirit. Or how she always smelled of the ocean and vanilla shampoo. He usually had so many words.

But today, for some reason, he couldn't find them.

"Yeah. Bridget," he finally managed to choke out. "Her name is Bridget."

---

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it. Feel more than free to leave me some motivation in the form of a review! Thanks for reading. I'll update soon! (:


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N) Wow! It's been quite a while, huh? This is the first story that I'm updating in my half-year absence. Special! I'm really sorry I've been gone so long, but I'm back now that my college apps are done and I got accepted into the school I wanted! So look out for more fics in the future! It's good to be back. (: On to the chapter!

---

"You're pretty fast," Eric panted to Lexy as they led their group of new players on a run across the sandy beach. _The same beach…_

The group of young boys, varying in both shape and size, trailed after Eric in a scattered line. The last boy, a flat-footed striker from Tennessee, was almost a half mile behind him. But Lexy, in her Nike sneakers and navy shorts, managed to keep up. She turned to him and wiped a stray hair out of her face. "Yeah," she replied between breaths. "I run. A lot. Feels good."

Eric couldn't help but glance at her taut body and felt a warmth building in his stomach. "Yeah," he exhaled back. "Really good."

---

"Damn!" Andy Maxwell whistled, when Eric joined him for lunch in the mess hall. "You, sir, are the luckiest man in the world."

Eric put his tray down and slid onto the bench. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, 'what do I mean'? Have you seen your partner?"

Eric shook his head, smiling. "I have a girlfriend, Andy. Remember Bridget?"

His friend chuckled and waggled his eyebrows. "I know that. I've seen your millions of pictures of her. She's hot, man, but honestly, Lexy is _hot._"

Eric creased his eyebrows in disgust. "Andy, why do you always have to talk about girls like that? Plus, I'm not interested in Lexy at all." It occurred to Eric that he wasn't exactly sure who he was trying to convince with his heated words.

"Well, you must be the only guy in the camp to feel that way," Andy shrugged, gesturing over to Lexy's table, where several guys were already chatting her up. She tossed her hair every few seconds, and she would bare her pearly white teeth when she laughed.

_She's so different from Bridget,_ Eric thought to himself as he watched her. _Bridget's effortlessly stunning, while Lexy is almost comically sultry. But at the same time…they're so similar. _Eric recognized a bold impulsiveness in his new partner that also lived in his girlfriend. He could tell that the two girls both valued feelings over rules and plunged headfirst into their aspirations.

_And, _Eric realized with a pang, _they both bring out the same fire in me when I see them. Wait, no, no. _He shook his head, laughing. He was clearly delirious. Bridget was his girlfriend. They were meant to be with each other. He loved her more than he loved soccer and, quite possibly, life itself. How could he compare her with this girl he had just met two days ago? How superficial would that make him?

He raised an eyebrow and looked back at Lexy. She smiled.

---

Eric grunted and sent the ball sailing into the net with an impressive scissor kick. The miniscule boy who played goalie didn't even get a piece of it. "Just do what I did," Eric instructed the line of awestruck young boys. "You don't even have to perform a stunt. Just kick it into the net."

"I can't even do that," the redhead in back of him joked, eliciting laughs from the boys.

Eric turned around and smiled. "Yeah, you can, Tony. Just keep your ankle straight."

Tony the redhead shuffled his feet. "Can Lexy be the goalie?"

Eric quickly glanced over at Lexy, who looked annoyed. "Why, Tony?" she asked, trying to keep her voice under control. "You think girls aren't as good of goalies as boys?"

Tony smirked slightly. "Yeah?" His voice was taunting, and Eric immediately recognized that the teenager was flirting with the coach. Unfortunately, Lexy didn't; she took him seriously.

"Okay, fine," she said, sliding on her black goalie gloves, her voice determined. "I'll goalie." She jogged into the net and told the boy who was there to get back into line. Lexy took her position. "Hit me!" she yelled.

Only Eric heard the boy whisper, "I wish," as his foot connected with the ball. It soared out to the left but seemed to curve inward, toward the left rung. Lexy dived before anyone realized what was happening. She caught the ball by the tips of her fingers and landed roughly on her side. As she got back to her feet, she shot Tony, who was already suffering from his teammates' jeers and laughs, a satisfied smirk. She tore off her gloves and skillfully dribbled the ball back to the group.

"Nice save," Eric complimented her, smiling his usual one-sided smirk. "You sure showed him up."

Lexy grinned and took a swig of water. "I didn't get MVP three years in a row for nothing."

---

The sun climbed higher into the clear Baja sky, sending intolerable rays down onto the earth. But Eric Richman and Lexy St. Clair didn't notice. They were both in their state. Their soccer state. And once they got in, nothing less than the invasion of a flesh-eating slug could get them out.

"No way!" Lexy laughed, tossing her blanket of hair onto her back. "You really want to play Scott Newman as striker for the rest of the summer?"

"Why not? He played that position at school."

"The guy has two left feet."

"So?" Eric sighed and pulled out his clipboard. "Look, the way I see it – Scott is amazing with position. He lacks skill, you're right, but that boy can anticipate plays better than anyone else on the team. If someone sets up the ball right, Scott can read the game from there."

There was silence. Finally, Lexy laughed, "You are impossible, Eric." Her luscious lips curled up into a smile. "But impossibly, you're right. I guess I see your point."

Eric pretended to bow. "Thank you, thank you."

Lexy giggled and shoved him lightly. He chuckled and playfully messed with her hair. There was a comfortable silence, which Lexy broke by asking, "Do you want to move under that tree? It's getting really hot out."

Eric squinted at the tree she was pointing at, shading his eyes with his hand to get a better look. It was a thick tree, with millions of branches and dark green leaves, and stood as the partition between Field 3 and Field 4. Eric recognized it as the very tree that he had watched Bridget play the championship game under. And later, she had come up to him to tell him that she had played hard because she knew he was watching. Eric waited for the usual zoomy feeling he got when he passed by a familiar "Bridget" landmark, but it didn't come.

He turned to Lexy. "Okay."

---

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it. It feels so great to be back, honestly. Feel more than free to leave me some motivation in the form of a review! Thanks for reading. I'll update soon! (And I will this time! Hehe.) (:


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N) Yay, I'm back again! I was nervous to post this chapter and the next one for a while because I thought Bridget fans would pelt me with virtual rocks. LOL But I've braced myself and done so anyway! Many thanks to Psh.Your.Mom, cryingcloud15, UnlikelyRose, rupertgrintlovesmeandonlyme, I heart hairspray, maximum-calories, MelodyofTwilight, Brucasgrl309, jasmineflower001, Lunax3, bridgetbeethequeen, Mrs. BridgetVreelandRichman, and quibbler149! (: On to the chapter!

--

The first thing Andy said to Eric that night was, "We're having a party."

"A party?" Eric Richman didn't do…parties. The word implied birthday hats, bouncers, and colorful piñatas. Back in high school, Eric and his friends had preferred to call them kick backs.

"Yeah," Andy said, pulling off his sweat-soaked shirt. "At the rec hall. Everyone's going. And, uh, I invited your friend Lexy."

Eric tried very hard not to move his face a millimeter. "And why would I care?"

Andy shot his roommate a knowing smirk. "Oh, trust me. You care."

"I have a girlfriend, Andy." It registered with Eric that he had repeated that phrase too many times than he should have in the past few days. But for whose benefit, however, he wasn't quite sure anymore.

--

The rec hall was packed with coaches that night, even Miss Wright, who was still wearing her Yankees hat with her blond ponytail through the loop. Eric realized that she must not get out much.

He meandered through the crowd to an empty table and took a seat between Andy and another tan, muscular guy. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lexy sitting at a nearby table, with her arm draped across Marni, her peppy blond roommate. Inexplicably, deep down, Eric wanted Lexy to notice him and call him over. He sat up a little straighter and stretched.

"Hey, Eric!"

It worked. Eric looked up, forcing his heart to beat slower. Lexy was waving at him, half-smiling. Eric waved back. He stepped out of his bench, and, ignoring Andy's knowing looks, walked over to Lexy's table and squeezed in between her and Marni.

"Ladies," he said as he sat down. Marni smiled nervously, and Lexy grinned.

"Everyone," she addressed her friends, "some of you might know him, but this is my awesome new coaching partner, Eric Richman."

Eric held up a hand as they greeted him. He asked, "So, what are you guys playing?"

Mike, the burly guy sitting opposite of him, took a swig of beer and shuffled a deck of cards. "Hold'em," he grinned. "You interested? Loser of each round has to drink some of that."

'That' turned out to be a repulsive-looking liquid contained in an Arrowhead bottle. It was brown and seemed to be bubbling. Marni, in her girly voice, proudly declared that she had made it with seven different kinds of alcohol and four different sodas. She snapped her gum loudly.

Eric grimaced. "Yeah, sure, count me in."

The first round was quick and painless for Eric. He had received a pair of tens on his first hand, along with a four. The flop had given him two more fours. Eric knew he had the game, and thus, continued tossing in more and more chips. Mike and Marni had both folded, and Derek Harris had only a pair of threes. Lexy had nothing.

Marni squealed as Lexy smirked and picked up the bottle. Eric watched, grimacing, as Lexy announced, "Cheers". She tipped her head back, as if drinking a shot, and made a face as the liquid traveled down her throat. She exhaled loudly.

"How was it?" Marni asked in her helium-induced voice. Lexy was quiet for a second, then, proclaimed, smirking, "Muy caliente."

_I'll say, _Eric thought, bemused.

--

Lexy snuck up behind Eric one hot afternoon and tiptoed to talk into his ear. "Scott's doing really well as striker." Her breath was hot on his neck.

Eric felt his own breath catch as she subconsciously ran her hands down his back and stepped to his side. "I know," he replied nonchalantly, following her with his eyes. "I told you - I'm good with positions."

For the last few days, the two had been innocently flirting with each other – Lexy often found excuses to touch Eric, who, in turn, dropped innuendos into every conversation. Eric told himself it meant nothing, not even an intoxicating fling. It was purely innocent. They weren't soul mates or anything. There was longing; there was no denying it. But Eric would fight it.

For Bridget. He could.

The sweeper, Pierre, accidentally kicked the ball out of bounds. Eric watched it roll over to them and watched Lexy instinctively stall it with her cleats. "Watch the defense," she chided.

"Hey," Lexy said to Eric, once Pierre rejoined the practice.

"Yeah?"

"Want to come to the bar tonight? A bunch of us are going."

Eric balked. He couldn't imagine stepping back across the threshold of that bar, the very place where he had shared a passionate, albeit quick, dance with Bridget. He couldn't bear going back in, knowing that the last time he was there, Bridget had danced against him. Somehow, inexplicably, Eric feared that the memory would wither and die once he made a new one.

"Hello?" Lexy was staring at him with her wide amber eyes. She smiled. "Want to?"

"Oh." Eric stared back at the field. Scott had just scored a goal, and the players erupted in cheers. "I'll go," he finally decided.

--

"Want to dance, Eric?"

Eric looked nervously up at Lexy, then at Andy.

"Go on, man," Andy urged quietly. "Are you crazy? Every guy in this room wants Lexy. And she's asking _you._"

Eric looked back at Lexy. She was wearing a white halter dress that looked amusingly like the one Bridget had worn last summer. She had her long brown hair in a messy ponytail and her skin was flushed from dancing with friends.

"Okay." Eric was wary, but got up anyway. He wiped his palms on his pants as he followed Lexy onto the dance floor.

The music blared, its bass beats shaking the floor. Lexy raised her arms and placed them tentatively on Eric's shoulders as she danced around him. He didn't have to do much but stand and move his arms slightly. It was like that a lot with Lexy.

After a while, the two began to move closer. The beats filtered into their respective bodies, and they began to move as one without thinking about it. Pink and blue lights filled the room. They had had one too many strawberry tequilas. Lexy stumbled.

"Ouch," she muttered, looking down at her ankle. "That really hurt."

Eric scratched his head. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

They continued dancing, but Eric noticed his partner grimace each time she put pressure on her right foot.

"Want to sit?" Eric asked nicely.

Lexy fixed an eye on him. "No. Will you go back to camp with me?"

--

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it. Don't worry, Bridget fans – I feel a happy ending coming up soon. (; So please don't hate me! Feel more than free to leave me some motivation in the form of a review! Thanks for reading. I'll update soon! (:


	4. Chapter 4

(A/N) I struggled with this chapter for the longest time! I knew how I wanted to end it, but I didn't know how to get there. lol. I had three versions, and I settled on the simple take on it. I really hope you guys like it! (:

Thank yous: Mrs. Bridget Vreeland Richman, Deranged Calling, jasmineflower001, cupcakeofdoom, Gabriella Kim, kahleluv, and xx.Nicolee! Thank you so much for the support – here's some virtual cookies for you! (:

--

It may have been a nice night out.

The moon may have been huge, the crickets may have been singing, and the stars may have shone with the brilliance of mega watt light bulbs. But, in all honesty, Eric didn't notice. Because that night, he was much too preoccupied with the beautiful dilemma walking next to him along the dusty road back to camp.

Their hands grazed several times, since neither could walk too straightly. And each time, Eric's nerves jumped.

"Eric?" Lexy's voice was soft, harmless.

"Yeah."

"Can I say something?" Softer, less harmless.

"Go ahead."

"I'm attracted to you, Eric. A lot."

Eric inhaled sharply, not daring to make a sound. _How can this girl be interested in me? _He couldn't wrap his mind around it. "I have a girlfriend," he finally murmured, as if reminding himself.

Lexy shook her tousled hair. "I know. I understand. I'm not trying to break you guys up. I just…had to let you know." She sighed.

Eric squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for what he was about to say. "I know, Lexy. I know how you feel. Trust me. And hypothetically, if…if we just get it out of our system, do you think we'd get this silly infatuation over with?"

Slowly, as his words registered in her head, Lexy broke into a smile. She looked at him. "I'm dying to run the bases with you, Eric Richman."

"Hey." He stopped walking and smiled sadly. "We're at soccer camp."

--

In actuality, it was a nice night out, Eric realized later, as he sat with Lexy St. Clair in his arms. The thin blanket couldn't hide her tan calves, her bare back, or, most importantly, his disappointed face. Indeed, Eric was disappointed in himself.

He was disappointed that he had let this girl get under his skin in the course of a couple of days. He was disappointed that he had fallen for this stranger that he barely knew. And of course, he was disappointed that he had let Bridget down.

He and Lexy had gotten their desires out of their systems. He had experienced Lexy in all her splendor, as, undoubtedly, many other guys had. Now their infatuation would be over. _Right?_ Eric knew the answer, and it scared him that it wasn't the one his heart told him was so. He was a jumble of emotion, once again.

_I have to get out of here,_ Eric thought to himself. _I have to get out before I get way in over my head._

--

The door of his cabin creaked open.

"Who's that?" Andy's usually deep voice cracked, unattractively.

Eric couldn't help chuckling. "It's just me, Andy."

"Oh. Where were you? It's been three hours."

He hesitated, then said, "With Lexy."

"With Lexy? Oh. _Oh._ How was it?"

Eric shrugged, made his way over to his own bed and pulled out his duffel bag. He didn't want to talk about it. Because talking about it would make it more real. Talking about it would only cement the fact that he, Eric Richman, was one of those guys that used someone and then left them. He had always hated those types of guys. He had never imagined that he would be one of them.

Eric opened the first drawer and pulled out his shirts. Then he opened the second. The third.

Finally, Andy realized what was happening. "Hey, man, what are you doing?"

"I have to leave, Andy. I'm sorry. I can't do this. I knew coming back here was a bad idea." He folded his clothes haphazardly and zipped up his duffel bag. "Tell Lexy I'm sorry. She's going to have to coach the kids alone for the rest of the summer."

Andy sat up, pushing his covers off. "But you just got here! Why are you doing this? You're going to miss everything – the first game, the bonfires, the field trips…" He shot Eric a disappointed look and shook his head, "Man, you're not even going to know your kids' names."

But Eric only smiled. "There's someone that's more important to me than any of that. But you know what?" He extended a hand to his roommate. "It was great meeting you. Man."

--

"Hello?"

"Bee?"

"Eric?"

"It's me." Eric smiled sadly at her voice and realized how much he missed her.

"Is everything okay?"

_Define okay…_"Everything's fine. I really want to see you."

"I _really _want to see you." Bridget's longing was so intense, Eric could feel it pulsate through the tinny speakerphones in his cell. Together, they made plans to meet at her house the next day.

"I love you," Bridget said.

"I love you too," Eric replied, meaning it. He really did. Everything that happened prior to that moment dissolved into a faded memory.

Simply Bridget's voice, like a pair of shiny scissors, cut away Eric's shameful affair, cut away the memory of one Lexy St. Clair, cut away everything he wanted to forget.

And in that moment, Eric knew.

The only girl that really mattered to him was waiting for him back home.

--

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it! The whole fic, in fact. So I officially am done with all the stories in my account. woo (: I will be posting one soon, so look out! Thanks for reading and feel free to drop me a comment/question/anything! (:


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